Two men were asphyxiated to death when they climbed into a sewage chamber to remove a blockage at Ordnance Cloth Factory (OCF) quarters in Avadi on Thursday morning.
Police identified the victims as Moses, 46, of Avadi and Devan, 50, of Pattabiram. Over 200 families live at the OCF quarters located in Giri Nagar. Following a complaint from the residents of OCF, a private contractor was engaged to remove the blockage. The private contractor deployed the two men to execute the work.
One of them went inside after opening the manhole lid of the chamber which connects the sewage line and as soon as he entered, he fainted inside the pit which is 15 feet deep. The other worker followed him to rescue and both fainted inside. The security guard of the complex also tried to enter to rescue them but he fainted above the pit, said the police.
On receiving an alert, personnel from Avadi Tank Factory Police and from Fire and Rescue Services led by fire officer G.Muthukrishnan rushed to the spot and retrieved the two who were inside the pit. Devan was rescued in an unconscious state while Moses had died. However, Devan died later at the hospital, police said.
Joint Commissioner of Police, Avadi, P.Vijayakumar, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Avadi, N. Baskar visited the spot and held enquiry. Avadi Tank Factory police registered a case against the persons who engaged them for the work under section 304 -A (Causing death due to negligence) of Indian Penal Code and other provisions of law. Further investigation is on.
